Circle brace



May 5, 1931. N. K. SMITH CIRCLE BRACE Filed April 25, 1928 Patented May 5, 1931 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE NELSON K. SMITH, 0] LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR 'I'O BYRON JACKSON OF WEST BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE CIRCLE BRACE Application filed April 25,

This invention relates to circle braces, a device thatis used in making up and break-. in outjoints of a drill stem in standard drllling. The circle brace is employed to brace the rack of a common type of floorcircle, or jack to prevent its distortion and to rigidly hold the jack and tools in place when strain is applied in making up or breaking out joints.

An object of the invention is quickness of adjusting.

Another object is security against collapse of the brace when in use.

Another object is ease of handling in placing the brace in position between the floorcircle and the drill stem and in removing it.

Other objects and advantages will'appear in the subjoined detailed description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure lisa perspective view of a circle brace constructed in accordance with the pro visions of this invention the parts being shown inthe positions they occupy when the circle braceis being placed in bracing position. Fragments of a floor-circle and drill stem are indicated in broken lines.

Figure 2 is a verticalsection of the circle brace shown in Fig. 1, the sections being in the locked positions.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on the line indicated by 3- 3, Fig. 2.

Two sections in sliding or-telescoping relation are employed, a section 6 to engage the floor-circle, a fragment of which is indicated at A, and a section 7 carrying a shoe 8 adapted to engage the drill stem, a fragment of which is indicated at B. The shoe 8' is pivoted at 9 to the section 7. p

In this instance, the section :7 is provided with a straight portion 10 slidable through a-slot 11 in the section 6. The slot 11 extends substantially the full length of the section 6. Approximately midway of the length of the slot 11 there is provided a transversely extending pin 12 that constitutes a stationary abutment within said slot.

. he lower edge of the straight portion 10 is serrated or toothed, the teeth being indicated at 13 and said teeth are adapted to be 1928. Serial No. 272,604.

hold 15 is formed adjacent'to the straight portion 10 on one end of the section7. These hand-holds 14, 15, enable the operator to readily grasp the sections 6, 7, when placing the circle brace in position for use or remov ing it. The slot 11 is of sufiicientheight to permit the section 7 to be rocked from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1. In other words, the slot is of suflicient height topermit of the sections 6, 7 being axially aligned, withone of the teeth 13 en gaging the abutment 12 or with the sections 6, 7 arranged at an angle to one another with the teeth above and out of engagement with the abutment 12. When the sections 6, 7 are locked together, as in Fig. 1, one end of the section 7 is prevented from swinging upwardly'relative to the section 6 by an abutment formed by the upper wall 16 of the slot 11 as it is oifset from the abutment 12 longitudinally of the section 6, and the other endof the section 7 is prevented from swinging downf section 6 by the abut;

w ardly relative to the ment 12.

At point substantially over the abutment 12 there is provided a movable abutment or latch 17 which, in this instance, is pivoted at 18 within the upper portion of the slot 11, said upper portion extending into thehandhold 14. V r '7 The latch17 isprovided with a handle 19 which projects from the slot 11 so that said latch can be readily turned into different po-, sitions. In Fig. 2 the latch is shown in position to prevent disengagement of the section 7 from the' abutment 12 and, accordingly, said latch is provided with an eccentric face 20 between which and the abutment 12 the distance is less, when the latch is closed, than the distance from thetip of the teeth 13 to the." back of the straight portion 10, taken on a line substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said portion. The latch 17 is provided with another face 21 which can be turned into position adjacent to the section 7 and, when thus turned, the distance between the face 21 and the abutment 12 is greater than the distance from the ends of the teeth to the back of the portion 10, thus permitting the section 7 to be tilted to such angle relative to the section 6, as indicated in Fig. 1, as will permit of the teeth sliding past the abutment 12.

In the event of it not being desired to use the latch 17 or, to further secure the section 6, 7 against unlatching, a pin may be inserted in a hole 22 extending transversely through the section 6 at a point over and quite close to the back of the straight portion when said straight portion is in the locked position shown in Fig. 2. The pin 1s not shown, but the hole 22 is.

The latch 17 may be yieldingly held in latched position by a coil spring 23. In this instance one end of the coil spring 23 seats against a nib 24 within a spring chamber 25, and the other end of said spring seats against a shoulder 26 of a stud 27 on which the spring is placed. Said stud 27 is provided with a rounded head 28 adapted to engage in a recess 29 formed in the latch 17. The spring 23 is positioned, when the latch is closed, with its axis substantially at right angles to v a line connecting the face 20 with the axis of the pivot 18. When the handle 19 is pulled upwardly, in Fig. 2, it rotates the latch clockwise, thus moving the head 28 of the stud 27 downwardly. In the latched position, the axis of the spring 23 lies above a plane connecting the nib 24 with the axis of the pivot 18, thus the force of said spring tends to turn the latch counter-clockwise. When the latch is turned clockwise, as above mentioned, so as to swing the head 28 downwardly,itbrings the axis of said spring below a line connecting the nib 24 with the axis of the pin 18, so that the thrust of the spring tends to turn the latch clockwise and hold it in the unlatched position. Thus the latch may be termed a toggle latch, since the spring will hold it in latched or unlatched positions.

In this instance, the shoe 8 is toothed or serrated as indicated at 30 so as to better grip the drill stem. The section 6 is provided at the end that engages the floor-circle A with a tapered-off portion 31 so as to easily enter between the flange and the ball of the floorcircle.

To use the invention described above, assuming that the latch 17 is in the off position, the operator grasps the hand-holds 14, 15, as indicated in Fig. 1 tilting the section 7 so as to disengage it from the abutment 12, and he places the section 6 against the floor-circle A. The operator then moves the section 7 endwise toward the drill stem B, engaging the shoe 8 with said drill stem at a point considerably above the level of the floor-circle A. He then forces the hand-hold 14 downwardly, thus causing one of the teeth 13 to engage the abutment 12 so as to hold the sections 6, 7 against relative endwise movement. He then operates the latch 17 into the position shown in Fig. 2 so that the sections 6, 7 will remain in the adjusted positions. From this it Will be readily seen that the circle brace can be readily adjusted to different lengths, according to the distance between the points of engagement of the circle brace with the floorcircle and drill stem.

To remove the circle brace, it is only necessary to reverse the operations described and, in place of bearing down on the hand hold 14 to pull up on the same. after the latch has been operated into the oli position.

It is to be particularly noted that the section 7 constitutes a lever whose fulcrum is the wall 16 and that, when the brace is in operating position, the lever presses downwardly upon the abutment 12, thus tending to hold down the section 6 and with it the floor-circle A. This is quite an advantage as the floor-circle is not secured to anything and has a tendency to rise when the drill stem joints are being broken. To obtain the lever effect, the abutment 12 lies below a line that passes through the axes of the outer ends of the sections.

I claim:

1. A circle brace comprising two slidably connected sections, one of said sections provided beneath the other section with an abutment and the other with teeth on its lower edge to engage said abutment, an abutment on the first mentioned section above the second mentioned section and offset from the first mentioned abutment longitudinally of the first mentioned section, a means to releasably hold the sections toward each other to prevent disengagement of a tooth with the abutment, and a shoe on the outer end of one of the sections for engagement with a drill stem.

2. A circle brace comprising two sections, one of said sections provided with a slot and the other with a straight portion slidably mounted in said slot, an abutment in the lower portion of the slot, teeth on the lower edge of the straight portion to selectively engage the abutment, an abutment on the first mentioned section above the second mentioned section and offset from the first mentioned abutment longitudinally of the first mentioned section, a releasable means in the slot secured to the slotted section to prevent movement of the straight portion away from the abutment, and a shoe connected with the outer end of the straight portion adapted to engage a drill stem.

3. A circle brace comprising a section provided with a slot extending substantially from end to end thereof, another section having a straight portion slidably engaging said slot, the slot being of suflicient height to permit of the sections being angularly positioned with respect to each other, one of the sections provided with an abutment beneath the other section and the other with teeth onits lower edge to selectively engage the abutment when the second mentioned section is substantially axially aligned with the slot, an abutment on the first mentioned section above the second mentioned section and offset from the 1 first mentioned abutment longitudinally of the first mentioned section, a means positioned in the slot to prevent upward swinging of the straight portion when a tooth is engaged with the abutment, and a shoe connected with the straight portion and adapted to engage a drill stem.

4. A circle brace'comprising two sections, one provided beneath the other with an abutment and the other with teeth on its lower edge to selectively engage the abutment, one of the sections slotted to slidably receive the other section, a portion of the slot being a sufficient height to permit of relative angular adjustment of the sections when the teeth and abutment are disengaged, the slot being provided with an upper wall engageable with the upper edge of the toothed section, a latch rotatably mounted in the slot and provided with two faces at dilferent distances from the axis of rotation of the latch, one of said faces when the latch is turned to one position preventing relative angular motion between the sections and the other face when the latch is turned to another position permitting of relative angular motion between the sections, and a shoe on one of said sections to engage a drill stem.

5. A circle brace comprising two sections, one section constituting a lever and the other section providing a fulcrum for said lever, the second mentioned section provided with an abutment, said abutment lying below a line passing through the axes of the outer ends of the sections.

6. A circle brace comprising two slidably connected sections, one of said sections provided beneath the other section with an abutment and the other with teeth on its lower edge to engage said abutment, an abutment on the first mentioned section above the second mentioned section and offset from the v necting those endsof the sections farthest removed from each other.

Signed at Los Angeles, Calif., this 12th day i of April, 1928.

NELSON K. SMITH. 

